Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari breaks left thumb

''I hit my thumb to the backboard. I was trying to block a shot,'' Gallinari said. ''I tried to play through, but it was getting worse second by second. I didn't know it was broken, but it hurt a lot.''

Gallinari was injured in the third quarter and X-rays revealed the fracture. The Nuggets also lost guard Andre Miller in the second quarter with a bruised right shoulder. Neither player's status for Wednesday's game is known.

Gallinari, who leads the Nuggets in scoring at 15.6 points a game and is averaging 4.6 rebounds, missed 13 games with a severely sprained ankle suffered against Houston on Feb. 6. He returned to the lineup on March 5 and had started to regain his rhythm.